Irish PM Leo Varadkar demands Apple pays back €13bn in taxes

Apple aren't the only company to enjoy a low European tax rate.

Ireland will now be forced to recoup €13bn (£11.5bn) in taxes Apple has dodged for the past 26 years in the European Union.

The European Commission ruled in August 2016 that Apple and Ireland's tax agreement was illegal under state aid rules. Ireland has this month been given a shove and will start recouping the back-taxes in the coming weeks.

Ireland has been suffering economically since the global financial crisis in 2008. Its debt to GDP ration sits at 72.8%, roughly triple what it was in 2007 (23.9%).

It was concluded that Apple was using two shell companies to report its European profits and was paying as little as .005% tax.

Ireland did argue the decision and accused Brussels of interfering with national sovereignty. The government said the commission had not only exceeded its powers but made attempts to rewrite Irish corporation tax rules. Ireland argued that the commission wrongly applied EU state-aid rules to the Apple case.

But the battle is now over after Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar demanded the funds in Parliament on Tuesday (21 November). "We've indicated to them [Apple] that we want the escrow account established and we want funds to be paid into the escrow account without further delay," Varadkar said.

"We do not want to be in the situation where the Irish government has to take Apple to court because the European Commission is taking the Irish government to court. I think that message is understood and I'd anticipate progress in the coming weeks."

Earlier this year, it was revealed Apple had not paid any tax in New Zealand because of a combined deal with Australia. Apple had effectively paid £2.4bn in New Zealand taxes straight to the Australian Government.

Apple is not the only company in trouble over low taxes, Amazon, Facebook and Google have all been accused of dodging fees by setting up shell corporations in Ireland and Luxembourg. In October, the European Commission ruled that Amazon pay back €250 million in back taxes to Luxembourg after being gifted "undue tax benefits".